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National Service Blog

Individuals experiencing long-term homelessness also often suffer from medical fragility caused or aggravated by life on the streets and in shelters. Lacking stable access to housing and preventative health care services, they become “high-utilizers” of costly inpatient and emergency care.

The Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH) advances high-quality solutions and cost-effective programs to improve the lives of the most vulnerable people in our society by supporting locally-based organizations that provide access to public resources that enable the chronically homeless to connect to homes, health care, and the community. As a Social Innovation Fund (SIF) intermediary, CSH is leading a project that integrates health care and housing for individuals with multiple, chronic health conditions who experience homelessness.

These individuals often fall into the gaps between systems of care. A shelter provider and a hospital, for example, seek to meet different needs of an individual. The shelter may overlook or be unable to help the individual with health problems, making it harder for him to find and keep stable housing. The hospital, in turn, may overlook non-medical factors such as housing instability that could make its treatment plans for a patient less effective.

CSH bridges these gaps by integrating supportive housing – affordable housing and comprehensive services – with special emphasis on health services to improve access and outcomes while lowering costs for public systems such as Medicaid.

When disasters strike, it’s not unusual to see teams from AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) respond to provide relief and recovery services soon thereafter. But they don’t come alone. NCCC members, like all AmeriCorps members, are force multipliers, recruiting extra volunteers to serve with them wherever they go. AmeriCorps NCCC members serve in every state and U.S. territory, performing team-based national and community service that addresses local needs.

As she attended classes in the California Bay Area, Naomi Shachter was struck by AmeriCorps’ ability to transform the lives of students in her high school. AmeriCorps members served as mentors, advocates, teachers, and friends. “I saw what a big difference service in the community could make,” she said.

Today Americans are remembering the legacy of President John F. Kennedy on the 50th anniversary of his assassination. Many in the national service family were inspired by his life, and his legacy lives on through AmeriCorps VISTA, one of the anti-poverty programs he envisioned before his untimely death.

Julie Yorkshire looked for details about AmeriCorps VISTA on a website. Benjamin Weaver learned about AmeriCorps VISTA while scrolling through his Twitter feed. Now Julie and Benjamin use the same tools that lured them to the AmeriCorps VISTA program to recruit other volunteers. They are two AmeriCorps alums who are applying their volunteer mobilization skills to their current professional endeavors.

When President Obama announced the Task Force on Expanding National Service in July, he asked federal agencies to work together to create a pipeline for national service participants to apply the skills they learned in the federal sector.

As you are undoubtedly aware, the impact of Super Typhoon Haiyan on the Philippines has been astonishing. The typhoon has caused widespread damage, including landslides and flooding, and is expected to claim the lives of thousands.

After serving for eight years in the U.S. Air Force, TaQuoya Kennedy returned to the homefront and noticed a veteran sifting through a trash can. She then made it her mission to become a volunteer: an idea that had crystallized in her mind months before that sighting.

In Gen. George Washington’s farewell orders to the Continental Army, he encouraged the soldiers who united in battle to not only maintain their bond as a “patriotic band of Brothers” but to carry forward the virtues they had learned during military service when they returned home. His wisdom still rings true today, as we see example after example of our soldiers continuing to serve their communities after their military commitments end.